Italian Chapter Conference 2014 (STAG: Smart Tools & Apps for Graphics)

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Enhanced Sphere Tracing
(The Eurographics Association, 2014) Keinert, Benjamin; Schäfer, Henry; Korndörfer, Johann; Ganse, Urs; Stamminger, Marc; Andrea Giachetti
In this paper we present several performance and quality enhancements to classical sphere tracing: First, we propose a safe, over-relaxation-based method for accelerating sphere tracing. Second, a method for dynamically preventing self-intersections upon converting signed distance bounds enables controlling precision and rendering performance. In addition, we present a method for significantly accelerating the sphere tracing intersection test for convex objects that are enclosed in convex bounding volumes. We also propose a screen-space metric for the retrieval of a good intersection point candidate, in case sphere tracing does not converge thus increasing rendering quality without sacrificing performance. Finally, discontinuity artifacts common in sphere tracing are reduced using a fixed-point iteration algorithm. We demonstrate complex scenes rendered in real-time with our method. The methods presented in this paper have more universal applicability beyond rendering procedurally generated scenes in real-time and can also be combined with path-tracing-based global illumination solutions.